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Confronting Evil Again in New York City
By Matt Margolis | March 21, 2004
Yesterday, I went to New York City with a few friends from Boston to counter-protest International ANSWER’s anti-war/ anti-Bush/ pro-palestine/ anti-Israel/ pro-Mumia/ anti-capitalism/ pro-socialism/ pro-comunism /anti-America/ anti-Republican/ anti-democracy /anti-war on terror protest.
We left Boston around 7:30 a.m. There were four of us driving down, Aaron and Tyler from Pardon My English, FReeper Javene, and myself.
We got to New York around 11:30 a.m. found a place to park and got into the action. We had our signs and flags ready. I had a Bush-Cheney ‘04 rally sign and a self-made sign for the event. Before we even approached the center of activity, we were getting looks by passerby. Several negative, as well as a good number of people supporting the fact we were about to stand up to the commies of International ANSWER. A vet came to us and was grateful that we were there to support the efforts of President Bush – who actually had the guts to do the right thing.
We met up with our Freeper James, in New York and started in. We were immediately subjected to harassment from those people who didn’t like our signs. A few people even went to so far as to physically intimidate us. One person tried to rip off Tyler’s American flag.
So much for freedom of speech and diversity huh?
We knew we were going to be outnumbered. We were not part of any nationally organized effort, so other counter-protesters like us were probably there, but we couldn’t find them. However, the support we got from onlookers throughout the day was especially pleasing. We gave out some Bush-Cheney ‘04 buttons to a bunch of people who told us they were grateful we were there to counter protest the “nuts marching in the rally.”
We were engaged by occasional anti-war protesters. Many of whom told us we didn’t belong there and we should leave. Some looked at our signs and said “Are kidding?”, or “Are you for real? These are people who are so extreme they literally cannot believe that people could possibly think differently than them.
Or in reality – just think.
In the middle of the action
Tyler and I get interviewed by independent media
These people were completely uninterested in debating – they approached us not to have a discussion (which they claimed they were trying to have) but to tell us why they were right, why we were wrong, and they showed no interest in what we had to say and quickly dismissed our facts as propaganda and lies.
John and James
Me, holding my signs
Along the way, we were joined by a few people, one of them was John Brose, who just came back from serving Iraq in February. He had come see what was going on with the rally after hearing about it in the news and spotted us and joined our group.
I talked a lot with John, between arguing with the commies of International ANSWER. He told me about how things were in Iraq (which are not nearly as bad as the media makes it out to be) and that the troops are overwhelmingly pro-Bush and are still dedicated to the mission.
Sometimes John was confronted by the protesters, being criticized for his views. Very often he was told “Why don’t you enlist and go to Iraq?” Of course, he would “Actually, I just got back from Iraq.” After that they would usually shut up and move on. I heard a couple protesters accuse him of lying to them.
None of them thanked him for his service either. How’s that for “supporting the troops?”
John Brose (center) in Iraq
There were lots of different reactions to our presence. Once a person did come up to me said, “Listen, I disagree with what you’re saying, but I have to admit you have guts to come out here.”
People like that I could appreciate. He was someone I could have a discussion with. Unfortunately, he was a rare exception.
The signs hoisted by the ANSWER people were quite telling. From the blunt anti-Bush signs like “Bush Sucks,” “Re-Defeat Bush” or “Impeach Bush” to the anti-war signs “Bush Lies, Who Dies,” “Bring The Troops Home Now” and of course “End the Occupation of Palestine, Afghanistan and Iraq,” we knew we were dealing with dealing with a large groups of extremists. Some of them even told us “You guys better get out – you’re going to get killed!”
So much for being pro-peace and anti-violence right?
We took a time out at Starbucks to get caffeinated and reenergized for the rest of the rally. We shared our individual stories from confrontations, and laughed at the ridiculousness of their arguments. After that short break, we jumped back in, and infiltrated the march – which had already started dying down.
Taking a break, posing for a photo
At one point, a rambunctious anti-war protester was screaming at us, accusing us being stupid and illiterate, and I was even called a “Hitler Youth,” – which was not a nice thing to say to a Jew.
But that’s the mindset of these extremists… If you don’t agree with them, you’re a nazi. If you support President Bush, they call you a neo-con. If you support the war on terror, you are yourself a terrorist.
There was some media interest in us. We were followed by a freelance photographer for a couple hours, and I was asked some questions by a freelance writer from Columbia University and I spoke with someone from Salon.com (though I’m not expecting an objective recount of that encounter – should she use my words.)
After the rally died down, we decided to pack up and get dinner. We treated our new friend John to dinner, as a thank you for serving our country.
After parting with our new friends, those of us who came in from Boston went to pay our respects at Ground Zero.
The cross at Ground Zero
We walked around and grasped the massiveness of the holes where the twin towers once stood. We had parked nearby, and it was eerie to think as we approached that this is where it happened. This is where thousands of people died, where people ran to escape the crashing down of the towers.
And it’s sad so many people have forgotten.
Our humility turned to anger when we began heading back to the car to find that the ANSWER people had assembled a small group of people on the platform of the view area of Ground Zero. The were still going at it, bullhorns out, and screaming out hateful words and obscenities, disgracing the memories of those who died there on September 11, 2001.
ANSWER disagracing the memory of 3000 dead at Ground Zero
As we left, we decided to do our best to disrupt this despicable display; we hoisted out of the car window Tyler’s American flag, and beeped the horn as we drove by them. It may not have stopped them, but we couldn’t have left without doing what we could.
Hours later, I came home and had received an e-mail from John Brose, thanking us for hanging out with him:
Thanks for hanging out during that bullshit protest. Well, I am glad I came across you guys, because seeing all these morons in one place was pissing me off and I think I was ready to jump someone. I just can’t understand their whole thought process. How can you not be willing to support someone who is defending you? I was shocked at how almost all of these people had no agenda whatsoever, or even seemed to know what they were talking about. Most of them were nothing but freaks. And what’s scary is that their votes count just as much as mine.
Scary also is that they think they represent mainstream America.
It was quite a day. So much happened I probably won’t get to share, but Aaron and Tyler have each written about the day at Pardon My English, and you can read their accounts of the protest.
UPDATE: More accounts of anti-protests from IvanLenin, Hootinan, and Anti-com.com,
Topics: Activism |
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March 21st, 2004 at 3:58 pm
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March 21st, 2004 at 5:06 pm
This is my first protest where I, personally, have not been called a fascist. I was however called a fascist twice. When I asked the person to tell me what a fascist is, they had no response. When I said “totalitarian dictatorship - that’s what you believe, you are a fascist,” the enemy didnt respond.
March 21st, 2004 at 6:06 pm
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Now this and this are what I call a useful protest….
March 22nd, 2004 at 11:02 am
You should let me know when you’re in NY!
March 22nd, 2004 at 11:03 am
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March 22nd, 2004 at 12:54 pm
So youre gonna enable dumbya in his rape the worlds oil skeme as long as he kills dark skins
March 22nd, 2004 at 1:15 pm
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March 22nd, 2004 at 1:17 pm
Huh? Um Idiot could you please try to type in English.
March 22nd, 2004 at 3:49 pm
Um Yeah,
Please do a little research before you make such asinine comments. You are a hypocrit no doubt. Own a car? If we were raping the world for oil, Mexico and Canada would already be under our control. That is where most of our imported oil comes from. Only about 29% of our IMPORTED oil comes from the Middle East. If you were educated, which I clearly see you are not, you would know that we continue to purchase oil from them because it is cheap and high quality all at the same time. Oil here is full of sulpher, therefore, would be much more expensive to refine. The American people wouldn’t stand for the increase in costs if we stopped buying oil from the Middle East. We aren’t importing more oil now than we were in the past. You War for Oil arguement is both stupid and ignorant of real facts. Now pull your head out of your butt and get educated. You shouldn’t lump all terrorists into the “dark skins” category you racist.
March 22nd, 2004 at 4:00 pm
Down the Rabbit Hole
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March 22nd, 2004 at 4:54 pm
Mellisa is a racist!
March 22nd, 2004 at 6:12 pm
Um Yeah, the least you could do is pretend like you want to have a reasoned discussion.
March 22nd, 2004 at 7:22 pm
More on Peace Marches
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March 22nd, 2004 at 7:31 pm
Matt,
Nicely done! And pass on the thanks of one other grateful American to John!
March 22nd, 2004 at 8:54 pm
Great job on some investigative reporting from behind the lines of lunacy. Thank you for holding these people at least partially responsible for their rantings.
March 22nd, 2004 at 9:22 pm
The Anti-America Left
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March 23rd, 2004 at 3:58 pm
First time poster here…just wanted to add my thanks for fighting the good fight. Is Um Yeah here often? I’ve seen it/him/her on several boards and it/him/her is even more lame, stupid, irrelevant and morinic than I remember. I didnt think that was possible. From my experience on the other boards banning it now will save everyone listening to this mindless troll.
By the way I’m in Austin and you should see some of the granola crowd here. Debating them with facts is waste of time mostly however last week I converted someone to not vote for Kerry…not sure if she will vote for Bush though…baby steps.
March 23rd, 2004 at 4:11 pm
One should never misspell moronic. Irony at its best
March 23rd, 2004 at 7:37 pm
Here’s some material that you might have missed:
This is from last year (March 2003), from Washington University in St. Louis, home of some college conservatives who are in tune with the Old Right:
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Regarding A.N.S.W.E.R., and the pro-war Reds… What they are doing is awful (see my entry from last year about liberal anti-war protestors), but the pro-war side has its share of Reds as well:
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March 23rd, 2004 at 10:20 pm
Greg can you even spell your kkk
March 24th, 2004 at 5:54 am
Investigating the Protests
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March 24th, 2004 at 7:41 am
Reading weblog entries like this one gets the impression that the US is an extremely polarised society: on the one hand those who you describe as ‘reds’ and ‘anti-American’; on the other hand people who display a deep hatred of anyone they consider faintly ‘liberal’. What is going on? Don’t you have any intelligent, thoughtful people taking part in political discussions who, even if you don’t agree with them, you are prepared to respect enough not to go calling names at and brand traitors?
March 24th, 2004 at 8:30 am
Lizard Killer, it’s one of those things that you’d actually have to experience in order to understand. I have some entries about Kerry on my blog and as soon as they went up, the hate mail started pouring in. I’ve received death threats and assorted other BS simply because I as an American will exercise my right to vote for the Presidential candidate of my choosing, George W. Bush. From my personal experience, the people against Bush do not want a dialog, they don’t care for a discussion, they come in and start insulting and threatening. Their way is either you vote for Kerry or die. They say that too. Now I didn’t start this shit, I don’t go to blogs/web sites run by commies, democrats, socialists, etc and antagonize them. They hunt for Bush supporters. After receiving hundreds of hate mails, I’ve come to the conclusion that these people are evil. A good hearted person simply would not write such things. Just my personal experience.
Jennifer Martinez sends
March 24th, 2004 at 1:53 pm
What’s in a name?
I’ve been catching up with my blog reading. I am way behind here, between work and school and life and the Bestofme Symphony (which, by the way, is at Rocket Jones next week, so send Ted your links early, mmmkay? He needs to know how much pizza to ord…
March 25th, 2004 at 8:19 am
Matt….What you guys did took a lot of courage and I give all of you all the credit in the world for standing up to the nonsense of these extremists. I teared up as I read about the goings on at ground zero: a death bed for thousands. The disrespect of ANSWER is dispicable. Seriously, both you and Aaron, keep up the good work!
March 26th, 2004 at 10:40 am
Man, thanks for going out there. Just read about you on drudge, and yall’ve got balls like no one I know. I would have been right there beside you beating the shit out of Union fuck communists until I was passed out unconcious or dead. let me know if yall are ever in Atlanta. You’ve got a County Club to chill at in the better part of the neighborhood. Peace.hahaha!
Brandon
404-812-5351
March 27th, 2004 at 6:53 pm
A Little More On The Subject
Earlier in the week I said: …. Of course, the same thing happens in RL social situations these days. You’re…
September 1st, 2004 at 2:57 am
Matt I commend you on your efforts. It does appear you are doing this Blog for your own self interests to become the next “Limbaugh”. And like Limbaugh you choose to also express yourself and cover a topic based mostly on opinion and zero regard for fact or unbiased observations. But far be it for me to stop someone who wishes to be in “show business”.
I also was bothered by your reference(s)in some of your writings to those who do not look like you, or carry as much [u]weight[/u] around the middle as you that you would call them “freaks”. It is very obvious that the name calling against your own culture for centuries taught you very little of how to respect others. That is sad. Perhaps though it is your learning curve. New York is referred to as downtown earth-almost every culture in the world is represented in one form or another.Something to be appreciated. BUt you are too blind by your own opinions you hold to so tightly. I was hoping to come to this Blog for understanding little of which you have provided. Instead you write cheeky immature unimaginatve comments but you are still young and hopefully it will be something you out grow.
One other comment I live just a couple of blocks from where WTC used to stand. And two people I used to work with, they were new immigrants to this country in fact were killed on the very top floor of windows of the world restaurant. You will never know the impact this had on the city that day. I wouldn’t expect you should. The air was thick with pollution for weeks so much so my throat was sore. Only now do we find out that most of the rescue dogs that were there that day, two of them I used to feed, have all mysteriously died. Your president with his enviromental person told us it was ok to breathe the air again.It wasn’t! You like to make light of September 11th by supporting a president and our old mayor who use it as a platform for their own self interests. They are standing on the graves of 9/11 to reach their goal.You make light od this as well with your support. YOu are a fool. The freakness as you put it that you have observed and the anger is from living in a city that has been at the most constant highest elevation of terror with little done or support from your Bush. You want to know why we came out in droves of anger try living here but quite frankly i wonder if you could handle it. You’re choices are your own this election. Although I do feel you if you feel this strongly about W’s causes for liberation as he now spins it (remember the “weapos of MASS Destruction” line should down our throat and at the U.N.and the world and how your Bush mocked that campaign in a speech to the press in March?)why don’t you volunteer in the service to fight? The U.S. troops could use your help. NO? Because what is truly “freaky” is someone who says they support something but will not back it up with their life, heart and mind.Or is your support just “show business”.
September 1st, 2004 at 3:06 am
Here’s another line for your MATT MARGOLIS header.
[u][b]MATT MARGOLIS BLOG[/b][/u]
Just because its about me doesn’t mean its interesting.
Yawn….